The Best Reader:
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A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers (March 20th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 448 pages
Source: Author/Publisher
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance…

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Review:

She has no idea what's going on and Darius, the older of the brothers doesn't seem too pleased with her arrival. Soon she gets a much better understanding of who she is, what her parents were trying to protect, and what she will have to do in order to stay safe.

Helen was a pretty strong character. I was amazed at her ability to remain calm under stressful situations. This is a historical novel so she seemed very composed and poised most of the time. Then there were times where her emotions showed — like when she was with Griffin, or when she would become stubborn when listening to Darius and his demands. While she does make a few silly, and dangerous, decisions, she was enjoyable to get to know.

Darius is hot-headed, bossy, and difficult. He knew how to push Helen's buttons but in a way, that helped her become so much stronger. Griffin was the sweet, gentle brother. There was immediate chemistry between Helen and Griffin and I enjoyed watching their relationship form. Then there is another young man from Helen's past that truly makes her question what is right and wrong. I won't spoil it, but I liked this character and I felt he really brought a lot to the story. In a lot of ways he helped me to better understand Helen as well. I am curious to see where this"triangle" goes.

The plot and world-building of this story is very complex. Most of this book did seem to be focused on setting up the world these characters live in. We get to know the paranormal creatures, history, and powers involved. For this reason, the beginning was a bit slow for me. There is a large chunk of it dedicated to explaining the history and current situation Helen is faced with, which was needed, but got a little tiring. But, by the middle I was hooked on this story and excited to see what would happen.

A Temptation of Angels was a great beginning to this paranormal story involving fantastic world-building, a steamy romance, and a heroine seeking justice for her family.

Recommended: Paranormal/historical fans looking for a new series with a complex format and great characters.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Hello and welcome again to the third month of a Brand NEW Feature, co-hosting with Lisa from A Life Bound By Books! In this post I'll share with you a bit of information about the event and what book we'll be focusing on for April.

Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed is a monthly feature where Lisa and I will take one book and read it simultaneously. Throughout the month the book and author will be showcased in reviews, interviews, quotes and more on both blogs. When we post our reviews we'll have a linky set up where we hope you'll link your review to the book for that month.

Then at the end of the month, we'll post a discussion that we've had about the book and hope that others will join in on the discussion about the book in the comments. Now, on to the good stuff…

April's Novel Exposed Book: A Temptation of Angels By: Michelle Zink

We're really excited about this new feature/event and are more than thrilled with the response we've received so far. Also, we picked books for the next few months, which we can't wait to share with everyone! You can find May's book below and we hope you'll leave comments letting us know what you think of our book choices or if you have books you'd like to see featured on the months a head. If you are an author or publisher, please check the details below on submitting your book to be highlighted in this feature.

At the end of the month we'll be hosting our monthly discussion post that we hope you'll all join us in. So, read the book and then keep checking back each week, we're we'll be sharing various things to help celebrate all things A Temptations of Angels!

Add A Temptation of Angels to: Goodreads

May's Novel Exposed Book: Purity By: Jackson Pearce

Add Purity to: Goodread

If you are an author or publisher and have a book you'd like featured in Novel Exposed, please feel free to contact either of us and include info on your book and what month you had in mind. Please remember that we only feature ONE book a month for this event and that Lisa and I will try to accommodate. Should anyone have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email and I'd be happy to help.

This week Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I have shared with you our interview with Partials author Dan Wells and some of our favorite quotes from the book. Today we are doing an open discussion of the book where we share some of our thoughts and give readers a chance to join in and link up their review of Partials.

Discussion for Partials

Okay, my first thought when thinking of Partials is just how well it was written and how outstanding the characters were. Who was your favorite?

I agree that Partials was written amazingly. It was easy to grow attached to the characters and I think my favorite would have to be Kira, following by a tie between Marcus and Samm. Kira was incredibly smart and I liked how Well's took the time to let her work through her thoughts and figure things out. She's really strong too and to me that always makes a fantasic female lead. Marcus, he was a crack up! I think he had some of the best lines throughout the story and then Samm, he was a shocking surprise and yet still a huge mystery that I can't wait to learn more about in the next book. What about you, who was your favorite and why?

I agree 100%. Kira was amazing and I think it was wonderful how SMART she was. She didn't need anyone to show her the way, she really took charge. Marcus cracked me up. A lot of the book was focused around serious issues and his lines really created a nice distraction for a while. Samm was very surprising! One of my favorite things about this book was simply looking forward to Samm's moments to see what could be discovered from what he said. What did you think about the science part of the story?

To be honest, I was someone worried that the science part of the story would take over, but was happy that the writing made that part of the story fit in nicely and never took away from anything. That's the thing about Partials. There's so much in the story from various different genres that gave this book an amazing twist. In the end, I liked the science part of things. I wanted to see Kira work her way through things, to figure out the puzzle pieces before her. The science part of things really gave me a better chance to see just what a smart cookie she really is. The new"government" in Partials is written somewhat as a whole other character. What did you think of their choices for the people?

Very true. I was honestly worried I would be confused by the science part but it really grabbed my attention quick. It was nice to read a dystopian novel where we know exactly what happened to the humans. Many times that is overlooked. Partials is really a book that has a little bit of everything and that's one of the reasons why I think I enjoyed it so much. Now, as for the government and their choices, on one hand I can see why they worried so much about the people rebelling against them. Not many people were left and they needed order, but it was obvious that the pregnancy age was the biggest factor for the people (as it should have been). Their ideas weren't working so I think it was time for some new choices to be made but I couldn't help but feel bad for the adults in this book because they had literally lost everything.

The government was someone out of control. I cringed at the choices and laws they made for the world. I hated the control they had over everyone. Really, there were no choices left for a free person to make. The government did it all for you. I mean, I understand the need for humanity to continue, and the RM virus made that hard to do, but the control over people was just maddening! In the end, I LOVED Partials. It's one of the best books I've read in 2012 and I am in serious need for the sequel — Fragments in 2013. I really couldn't find anything that I didn't like about this title and I hope more people will pick this one up and fall in love just as much as I did.

Definitely! I had heard amazing things about it but it really blew me away. I can't wait for book 2 to see what happens to these characters next!
What did you guys think? Please leave us (spoiler-free) comments and we invite others to reply and join in. If you haven't read the book yet, just tell us what really makes you want to read it.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive an ARC of Partials by Dan Wells.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends April 14th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

We wanted to do this feature as a way to promote a new release and get people involved in discussing the book. One of the best ways to find out about a book is to read the reviews.

Please feel free to link your review of PARTIALS that has been posted on your blog or Goodreads.
Rules: Please post ONLY your review of PARTIALS. Please provide the direct link in the linky. You can include your rating of the book.
Example of link: Confessions of a Bookaholic — Partials Review (5 stars)

We would love you to join the discussion about the book. Leave comments, tell us what you thought, tell us why you want to read it, or ask questions. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS! We don't want to ruin it for others, but we'd love to see what everyone thought of the story.

Hello again! It's time for another post for this months Blogger Talk! Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I, along with Dan have put together some of our favorite quotes from the book. Check them out and see what you guys think. We'd love to hear your comments!

Title: Partials (Partials, #1)
Author: Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 472 Pages (February 28th, 2012)
Add Partials to: Goodreads
Order Here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partialsóengineered organic beings identical to humansóhas decimated the worldís population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanityís time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friendís pregnancy, sheís determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the warís origin that she never knew to ask.
Quotes from Partials:

Top 5 Favorite Quotes of Dan's -
Owen Tovar: "War, see, is when two sides fight, maybe not evenly, but at least they both get a few swings in. What we call the Partial War was mankind getting mugged in an alley."

Duna Mkele: "Let us assume, just for the moment, that whatever the Partials are planning is larger in scope than the murder of one teenage girl."

Nandita Merchant: "Each life has a different purpose, and some people can find their purpose more easily than others. The key, the most important thing you can ever know, is that whatever your purpose is, that's not your only choice."

Kira: "I don't know if 'we're stupider than they think we are' is a really great attack strategy."

Isolde: "If you can't know the truth, live the most awesome lie you can think of."

A Couple of My Favorite Quotes -
"No matter how they spun it, no matter how much they tried to focus on the positives, the ugly truth was that there simply weren't any children anymore. They were closing the school because they had run out of students. The teachers had done their job, but the doctors hadn't. -- page 12 (Kira)

"I've never been this wet in my entire life," said Kira."Even immersed in a bathtub I swear I was dryer than I am now."
"Look on the bright side," said Marcus.
Kira waited.
"This is the point," she said,"at which you would traditionally suggest a bright side."
"I've never been a real traditional guy," said Marcus."Besides, I'm not saying I know a bright side, I just think this would be a great time to look at one." -- page 45 (Kira and Marcus)

"Wake up sleepyhead," said Kira, bumping Marcus's ear with her shoulder."We're almost home."
"I didn't order sushi."
"What?"
Marcus opened his eyes warily."What did I say?"
"Nothing I have to smack you for. You're lucky you were dreaming about food instead of girls."
"I'm male," said Marcus, rubbing his eyes."It was a fifty-fifty shot." -- page 73 (Kira and Marcus)

A Couple of Lisa's Favorite Quotes -
"So tell us about yourself," said Marcus, settling into a couch."If I'm going to spend the while night waiting for you guys to stop flirting and shoot each other, I want to at least be entertained." -- page 54 (Marcus)

"Just bring something to share this time," sad Kira, turning back to Marcus and tapping him pointedly in the chest."I'm not covering for you like last time."
"That was a one-time thing," said Marcus, laughing,"and it wasn't last time, it was four times ago, and I've covered your share way more than that."
"I'm just saying," said Kira, picking him again in the chest,"I don't want my food-for-nothing, freeloader boyfriend to make me look bad in front of everybody. Again." She poked him one last time, glared at him playfully, then poked him again for good measure.
"Do you poke all the boys, or I am Special?"
She leaned closer."It's just you." She kissing him on the cheek."Until somebody better comes along." -- page 76 (Kira and Marcus)

"Wake up sleepyhead," said Kira, bumping Marcus's ear with her shoulder."We're almost home."
"I didn't order sushi."
"What?"
Marcus opened his eyes warily."What did I say?"
"Nothing I have to smack you for. You're lucky you were dreaming about food instead of girls."
"I'm male," said Marcus, rubbing his eyes."It was a fifty-fifty shot." -- page 73 (Kira and Marcus)

"Well, thanks for not shooting anyone, I guess" said Marcus."My contribution was to somehow refrain from peeing myself. You can thank me later." -- page 347 (Marcus)

It looks like this month Lisa and I managed to have one of our favorite quotes be the same. And I think it's telling that most of our quotes have Marcus in them. He was very entertaining to say the least. Also, the quote of Dan's from Isolde was one I almost used as well. That scene was a good one.
*Note: The quotes from Lisa were taken from an ARC copy of Partials.

Don't forget to check out the Interview with Dan >>>CLICKING HERE<<<
Again, we can't say thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy touring schedule to stop by a few days this week and be part of this months Blogger Talk.
Thanks for everything!

Find Dan Online:

Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Check out my review of Partials HERE!

Book Trailer:

Be sure to stop by again later this week for our Partials discussion post. We hope you'll join in on to help us celebrate this FANTASTIC book and author.

Hello everyone… it's time for another post for our second month of Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed!! Today we have a exciting and very different, yet fun interview with Partials author, Dan Wells. We hope you'll enjoy it, as much as we have.
A quick message: Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I would love to thank everyone who participated in last months discussion. We're still working out the kinks of this new feature for both of our blogs, but we believe it's been a great addition for each of us. We hope you guys will continue along with us for the journey as we bring you new and exciting books and authors each month.

Title: Partials (Partials, #1)
Author: Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 472 Pages (February 28th, 2012)
Add Partials to: Goodreads
Order Here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partialsóengineered organic beings identical to humansóhas decimated the worldís population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanityís time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friendís pregnancy, sheís determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the warís origin that she never knew to ask.
Top 5 Interview:

1. Give us 5 words you would use to describe Kira?
Smart, Brave, Reckless, Temperamental, Determined

2. 5 words you would use to describe the"world" we see in Partials?
Decaying, Empty, Overgrown, Dangerous, Waiting

3. Tell us 5 ways we would know someone is a Partial?
1- They're stronger, faster, and tougher than a human.
2- They're trained in battle.
3- They heal at a superhuman rate.
4- They can communicate silently with other Partials, which also means:
5- You can tell someone's a Partial if you are a Partial yourself

4. The 5 major survival skills humans would need in order to stay safe.
1- Stay away from old houses; most of them lack steel construction and could collapse if you're not careful.
2- You can find water almost everywhere, but make sure you purify it first. The Old World put a lot of scary chemicals into the soil.
3- Most canned food is still good, so you can find food almost anywhere (but watch out for cans that are bloated or swollen--they've gone bad).
4- Stay away from Partials at all costs.
5- Partials aren't the only bad guys. Wild animals have reclaimed most of the planet, and unscrupulous humans might be the most dangerous threats of all.

5. What are 5 symptoms of the RM virus?

1- Intense fever.
2- Loss of bodily fluids (mucus, urine, sweat), and with that the threat of dehydration.
3- Hallucinations.
4- Loss of muscular control.
5- Destruction of the immune system.

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy touring schedule to stop by today and be part of this months Blogger Talk. It was great to have you here, you're more than welcome anytime and we're looking forward to having you stop by again later this week when we share some favorite quotes with everyone.

Find Dan Online:

Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Check out my review of Partials HERE!

Book Trailer:

Be sure to stop by again later this week for quotes from Partials and discussion post we hope you'll join in on to help us celebrate this FANTASTIC book and author.

Partials by Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (February 28th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 472 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Partials #1
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Review:

Kira is a medic. She is a 16-year-old who is intelligent far beyond her years, and her and her friends are well aware of the issues that plague the human race. To make things worse, it's not just the virus causing issues. Politics are causing people to rebel and n ow the leaders are trying to show more power as a way to make people listen.

Soon, Kira comes up with a plan that she feels will help save the humans. She will study a Partial, an engineered being that everyone feels is responsible for the spread of the virus years ago. Her and her friends go into dangerous territory to find a Partial and this journey shows her a lot more than she expected.

Dan Wells is a brilliant writer. The world we are introduced to in Partials is scary, desolate, and all too possible. A virus spreading quickly across the planet is a real threat so I think that's why Partials is such a frighting story. Dan brought a lot of science into this story. He didn't leave us with questions as to what exactly had happened to the rest of the humans. We know about the virus, what it did to the victims, and how it spreads. I loved that the readers can really feel like they take part in deconstructing the virus itself and seeing what can be done to stop it. This was really a book that allows readers to step back and think about what's going on, and attempt to figure it out with the characters.

Although few humans survived, I got a good idea of how the remaining population lived in their new surroundings. The young adults (and very young teens) were critical to the survival of the race. The political figures always made that clear and in a way it showed how the younger population had more power than one would think

The characters we meet in Partials were so well developed and interesting. Kira was intelligent, focused, and extraordinarily brave. She thought of herself last. Her friends were always at the top of her list. Kira's friends were each so different and brought so much to the story.

Probably the most surprising part of this book to me was just the visuals. Dan Wells used honest, descriptive language to describe a world that is harsh and ruined. Everything from the broken roads, abandoned homes and skyscrapers, decaying remains, and wild animals were things I could picture with such clarity. I saw it like a movie or one of those Discovery shows that that go through what would happen if humans didn't exist. It's so frightening.

If you are thinking of taking a chance and reading a post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel, pick up Partials!

Dan Wells did a remarkable job bringing this world to light and showing a harsh reality. Partials had everything I could hope for in a fabulous YA novel!

Recommended: Lovers of post-apocalyptic/dystopian, science fiction, with strong characters and outstanding world-building.

Author | Goodreads | Twitter

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Hello and welcome to the second month of a Brand NEW Feature that I'll be co-hosting with Lisa from A Life Bound By Books! In this post we'll tell you a bit about the event and what book we'll be focusing on for March.

Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed is a monthly feature where Lisa and I will take one book and read it simultaneously. Throughout the month the book and author will be showcased in reviews, interviews, quotes and more on both blogs. When we post our reviews we'll have a linky set up where we hope you'll link your review to the book for that month.

Then at the end of the month, we'll post a discussion that we've had about the book and hope that others will join in on the discussion about the book in the comments.

March's Novel Exposed Book: Partials By: Dan Wells

We're really excited about this new feature/event and while February didn't go as we had totally planned — all completely out of our control — we hope that this month we'll be able to iron on some of the kinks and it'll all go a bit more smoothly. At the end of the month we'll be hosting another discussion post that we hope you'll all join us in. So, read the book and then keep checking back each week, we're we'll be hosting various things to help celebrate all things Partials!

Add Partials to: Goodreads

Also, Harper is giving everyone a chance to read an EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT of PARTIALS! Check it out by clicking the image below!

April's Novel Exposed Book: A Temptation of Angels By: Michelle Zink

Add A Temptation of Angels to: Goodreads

If you are an author or publisher and have a book you'd like featured in Novel Exposed, please feel free to contact either of us and include info on your book and what month you had in mind. Please remember that we only feature ONE book a month for this event and that Lisa and I will try to accommodate.

Should anyone have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email and I'd be happy to help.

Hello and Welcome again to our First month of Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed! Coming to you a little later in the month than we had planned… but better late than never, right? Is an interview with Brodi and some favorite quotes from the three of us — Brodi, my co-host Lisa from A Life Bound By Books and I. Next month these posts should be a bit more spread out throughout the month.

Title: Everneath (Everneath, #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Publisher: Harper Collins/Balzer + Bray, 370 Pages (January 24th, 2012)
Order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's…
Interview:

1. The cover of Everneath is beautiful! What did you think when you first saw the image?

I thought, Holy Wow! I LOVE IT!! I was also very grateful I wouldn't have to pretend to love my cover.: )

2. Can you tell us 3 words you would use to describe Nikki's personality?

Damaged, resilient, constant

3. Would you be able to share something about Nikki, Jack & Cole that we might not know?

That's a hard question! I'll give you a tidbit about Cole, since he has lived a longer life. He was born in Norway, and he used to be an apprentice.

4. If Everneath was being made into a movie and you could cast the roles for Nikki, Jack & Cole, who would you want to see play the parts?

Ack! Another hard question. I don't know, because I haven't ever researched it or anything. I'd love to hear what your readers would think and who they would cast!

5. From concept to published book, what was the easiest and hardest part of the experience for you?

Easiest part: reading every fan letter. I'll never get tired of it!

Hardest part: deadlines, deadlines, DEADLINES!!

6. Everneath is your debut novel! What has been the most surprising thing you've learned as a debut author?

The most surprising thing has been how much of it all is beyond my control. Especially watching the early buzz around EVERNEATH. I would just sit back and go,"But I'm not responsible for any of it!" The blogger community has been great.

Thanks so much for having me on the blog!

Brodi, it was really great to have you here today, on both of our blogs. And we can't say thank you enough for being part of our first month for"Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed." Thanks for everything!

Quotes From Everneath:

A favorite quote of Brodi's -
"Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with." -Mrs. Stone (the English teacher)

A Couple of My Favorite Quotes -

" 'I can't carry the team to victory without you,' he said. 'You're my lucky rabbit's foot.'
I craned my neck around to look at him. 'I've always dreamed of some guy saying that to me.'" -- Jack and Nikki (page 19).

" 'Your cheeks turned red, and I was gone for you.' He shook his head, and his lip quirked up in a smile. ' I know you felt it too. The connection between us. It started even before the Feed.'" — Cole (page 37).

" The next morning [after the dance], I found a note in my jacket pocket. I unfolded it and read two words, written in Jack's handwritting. Ever Yours" — Nikki (page 64).

" 'Why do you care if I get hurt?'
All he said was, 'I hate to see it. Whether you go with me or not, I don't like you getting hurt.' But his face seemed to say more. As if there was something he wasn't telling me." — Nikki and Cole (page 67).

A Couple of Lisa's Favorite Quotes -
" 'Strange, isn't it, Nik? The Connection between us now."
He grimaced and cocked his head to one side, as if he were waiting for me to close the distance between us. When I stayed perfectly still, he added,"You don't have to fight it." — Cole to Nikki (Page 29)

" Jack shifted toward me."So, Jules gets a smile, huh?"
I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for a response. He hadn't tried to talk to me since that first day, and his voice directed at me again did strange things to me. Made my stomach flutter. Of course, Jack had always had that power over me.
I kept my eyes down, but I couldn't stop my lips from turning upward.
'I see that," he said. Jack always saw everything." -- Jack and Nikki (page 52)

" He shook his head and looked at me as if I were delusional. As if I didn't know what winning was all about. Then he put an arm around me and it was almost like he was mourning my life with me."I don't understand the things you would give up for mortal relationships."
" You better hope you never do, Cole." -- Nikki and Cole (page 100)

" 'What are the screens of?" I asked.
" Elvis Presley as a corpse. You wanna come look?" Cole Gave me a grin as if he'd just asked me if I wanted to see rainbows being made.
" You had me at 'corpse.'" -- Nikki and Cole (page 116)

*Note: These quotes, from Lisa, were taken from ARC of Everneath.

Find Brodi Online:

Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Everneath Trailer:
Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for the discussion post with Jessica, where we'll be talking about all things Everneath and we hope you'll join in with us for the talk in the comments section. We might have some other things up our sleeves as well, so you won't want to miss dropping in.

Yesterday Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I shared with you our interview with Everneath author Brodi Ashton and some of our favorite quotes from the book. Today we are doing an open discussion of the book where we share some of our thoughts and give readers a chance to join in and link up their review of Everneath.

Discussion for Everneath

I really enjoyed how Everneath starts off with the characters being directly in the action. I admit, I'm not very knowledgeable about myths but it was great to start out by getting a lot of information from the beginning

I agree with you, however it was pretty confusing to me. I mean I was 73 pages into the story and I was totally confused as to exactly what had happened. There were terms in the book surrounding the events that the main character had gone through, but I had no clue until way later on in the book as to what really had happened.

I agree, especially when Nikki came back and was attempting to get back to her new life. That's when I really had to slow down and try to soak in each detail she gave about what happened while she was away. What did you think of Cole?

Ah, that's a question I was actually going to ask you… but you beat me to it! To be honest, he rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. I found him more than frustrating and somewhat an ass. Most of the time, I can find something to endear me to a character that makes me feel as he did, but I have no idea why so many people are falling all over him. So, my turn, what did you think of Cole?

Very true, but I did find that by the end I did really feel bad for Cole. I think that there is a lot to his story that we will, hopefully, find out in book 2. It did take me a while to like anything about him but I think he may prove to be more than meets the eye.

As you were typing that, I was thinking about Cole and I am looking forward to more about him because I do think he has something to offer, I just don't see it yet. I wanted to feel sorry for him, but I couldn't really because I know he can't feel. Or maybe that's what the clever author is trying to make us believe?

You could be right. Sneaky, sneaky! I try to have hope and I am really excited to see what happens with him. What did you think of the way Nikki handled her situation?

She was so disconnected from the Feed, so the beginning of the book showed just how detached she really was and as the book progressed a black cloud was somewhat lifted from around her that you finally get a chance to see and feel things again just as she did.

Exactly, at first I wondered why she had fought so hard to go back to her past life. Then, as time went on, I felt I saw her more clearly and could get the emotion that had been hiding. Overall, I was really happy with this story, the story of Nikki and Jack, and the suspense Brodi brought to the plot. I will definitely be checking out the next book to see where this story goes.

Since you mentioned Jack, I think I need to say that I loved him and how he never gave up, yet he had his own scars from Nikki's disapperance he still never gave up. The ending was epic and I totally agree with you… Brodi knows how to write the suspense. I'm also looking forward to the next book to find out what happens after that cliffhanger ending.
What did you guys think? Please leave us (spoiler-free) comments and we invite others to reply and join in.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a copy of EVERNEATH and swag.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends March 14th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

We wanted to do this feature as a way to promote a new release and get people involved in discussing the book. One of the best ways to find out about a book is to read the reviews.
Please feel free to link your review of EVERNEATH that has been posted on your blog or Goodreads.
Rules: Please post ONLY your review of EVERNEATH. Please provide the direct link in the linky. You can include your rating of the book.
Example of link: Confessions of a Bookaholic — Everneath Review (4 stars)

We would love you to join the discussion about the book. Leave comments, tell us what you thought, or ask questions. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS! We don't want to ruin it for others, but we'd love to see what everyone thought of the story.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Publisher: Harper/Balzer + Bray (January 21st, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 370 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Everneath #1
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's…
Review: I gotta say, Brodi Ashton sure knows how to put a new twist on an ancient Greek myth. I've never been the biggest fan of these retellings but this is way up on the list for my favorites I've read. When we meet Nikki she has been in the Everneath for 6 months (our time) but much longer than that in her reality. She had let heartbreak and sorrow lead her down a path and pointed straight at Cole — the new rock star with a few special abilities. Cole was able to give Nikki what she needed at the time and she made the decision to follow him.

Now Nikki is back, sort of. She doesn't feel completely normal and her friends have no idea what she has went through. She just wants a chance to make it okay before she is forced back into that world. Mostly, she wants to do the right thing for Jack, the guy she was dating when she went under.

The beginning of this story was a little confusing for me but that was part of the reason I kept reading. I'm new to these myths so I was interesting to see where everything fit. Nikki struggled to find her place and the only person who understood what was going on with her was Cole. At first I didn't feel really connected with Nikki. I wanted to really grasp why she had fought so hard to be back on the Surface but I didn't at first. The details came later and I felt much more connected with her as the story progressed.

One thing I really liked about the story was the way it was structured. We get to see Nikki as she progresses through her 6 months on the Surface, but we also get to see the time she spent before she went to the Everneath. By the end we have a much clearer picture of what happened and why so many people seem hurt by the situation. Jack was the one who went through the most and he really grabbed my heart. Who wouldn't want a guy like that? Jack was just so kind and mature, and it was so easy to see how he felt for Nikki. There were no games involved-- he just loved her!

It's easy to think that you could and should just hate Cole. He's the bad guy, right? But oh no, I didn't hate him. I felt so bad for him. Darn you Brodi for making him so enticing!! I really felt I understood Cole's actions. He was just doing what he was supposed to do and he didn't plan anything like what had happened with Nikki, not really. He's really a fun character because he has so many"sides".

Brodi did a fabulous job with this modern retelling. The story was easy to follow and the characters really made the story shine. Even without a ton of action, I never had a problem keeping focus on this story. The mystery behind it and the history among the characters was too fascinating for me to even think about putting the book down.
Everneath was a surprising read for me and one I that kept me highly entertained. I'm excited to see what happens with this series. Brodi Ashton has created a fabulous debut novel!

Recommended: Greek Mythology fans or fans of the paranormal. Very good read for young teens.

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Everneath is the February book pick for the new feature Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed. Each Saturday of the month Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I will be posting something new from Everneath or its wonderful author, Brodi Ashton.

Hello and welcome to the beginning of a Brand NEW Feature that I'll be co-hosting with Lisa from A Life Bound By Books! In this post we'll tell you a bit about the event and what book we'll be focusing on for February.

Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed is a monthly feature where Lisa and I will take one book and read it simultaneously. Throughout the month the book and author will be showcased in reviews, interviews, quotes and more on both blogs. When we post our reviews we'll have a linky set up where we hope you'll link your review to the book for that month.

Then at the end of the month, we'll post a discussion that we've had about the book and hope that others will join in on the discussion about the book in the comments.

February's Novel Exposed Book: EVERNEATH By: Brodi Ashton

We're excited for the event, were excited for this book and we're excited and hope to have all of YOU celebrate this months book. So, read, keep checking back each week for some amazing posts and get ready for the end of the month when we discuss all things EVERNEATH!

March's Novel Exposed Book: Partials By: Dan Wells

Should anyone have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email and I'd be happy to help.